![]() It is possible to fish in rougher weather with the power block, because the steady force exerted by the net stabilizes the vessel. The use of power blocks was found to have further advantages. The combination of the automated power block hauling synthetic nets with sonar sensing revolutionised the industry. Other important innovations of the same period were the development of synthetic fishing nets and sonar detection devices. As a result, retrieving the net is safer and requires less manual work. Their speed, torque and direction can be remotely controlled from the bridge during operations. They have evolved since then, and nowadays power blocks are powered by hydraulic pumps. In 1954, the power block was trialled by American purse seiners in the Pacific. It was suspended from a davit, and powered from the warp end of the winch by a looping rope. The original power block he designed was essentially a simple winch which used a V-shaped roller coated with hard rubber. While he was working as a tuna and sardine fisherman from San Pedro, California, Puratić started thinking about the difficulty of hauling seine nets. In English, Puratić is usually incorrectly spelt Puretic, sometimes Puretich. The power block was invented by a Croatian fisherman, Mario Puratić, and patented in 1953. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), "no single invention has contributed more to the success of purse seine net hauling" than the power block, which was "the linch-pin in the mechanization of purse seining". The Puretic power block revolutionized the technology of hauling fishing nets, particularly purse seine nets. While many men were needed for the back-breaking work of hauling a purse seine manually, the same work could be done by fewer men with a power block. The power block is a large powered aluminium pulley with a hard rubber-coated sheave. The Puretic power block is a special kind of mechanised winch used to haul nets on fishing vessels. A Puretic power block can be seen at the top of the boom at the stern.
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